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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · march · fall · trunk · wax · sharp · race · racket

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. race — the arms race
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fall — to drop
  9. march — music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fall — the season
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. race — a contest
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fall — to drop
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wake — a trail
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — to grow
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com